I need to start this review by stating that I am not a big young adult fan and unless it's an auto-buy author, I generally steer clear. I dealt with enough teenage angst as a teen and really don't have much interest in dealing with it as an adult. That said, Gena Showalter is an auto-buy author and is quite gifted in both young adult and adult genres. So, like the majority of her books, I wanted to read this one. It didn't disappoint.

The Evil Queen is a retelling of Snow White and while there were bits that seemed repetitive and should've been replaced or taken out during the editing process, I did enjoy the world building, many of the characters, and Ms. Showalter's take on Snow White. There is a lot of potential here and The Evil Queen was a good beginning.

I'm curious where The Forest of Good and Evil is going to go from here because it was mentioned there are multiple fairy tales playing out within the world and we didn't meet anyone associated with them. Will Everly and Roth's courtship continue on or will be get new fairy tales moving forward? Personally, I'm hoping for the latter. I give The Evil Queen ★★★1/2 and will definitely be reading book two.

*eARC provided by Harlequin TEEN (US & Canada) VIA NetGalley*

Hello My Darklings... Welcome to Enchantia, the land of myths, magic, and mystical creatures. It's the place make believe is made of. Realms based on fairytales, with its people living out the stories one day and battle at a time. One day, in Oklahoma, Everly finds out that her life is not what it appears to be. She was born with a destiny and it's time to take her rightful place amid the legend of Snow White and The Evil Queen. What part will she play? Is she good or evil? And is she strong enough to find out? Right this moment, fresh from reaching the end of this book, I'm eagerly anticipating the next one. I'm hooked on all things Roth and I NEED MORE!!

The Evil Queen could also be referred to as The Seven Sins of Everly. I swear, this young lady wanted and needed and craved it all.
⭐ Sloth: she wasn't well liked, she didn't like it, but she did nothing about it but complain and pout. She actually exacerbated the issue and still found cause for complaint..
⭐ Pride: when she found out she had mystical power, despite the warnings, she was proud of what she could do and did it anyway, regardless of the cost. Then whined about it afterwards.
⭐ Greed: she hoarded power and if she had her way, she alone would have any.
⭐ Gluttony: see above point; add in the fact that the more she had, the more she wanted. Enough was never enough.
⭐ Envy: she had green eyes for anyone who possessed something she didn't have. Being a sorceress was her greatest boon because she could just syphon what she wanted. I guess this goes with Greed and Gluttony as well.
⭐ Lust: not only for power, but also for Roth. When you meet him, you won't blame her.
⭐ Wrath: irrational scorn, justified rage, and generally mad at the world. That was Everly. I agreed with her reasons, not all of her methods.

I can imagine a lot of people hating Everly. I know that there were moments when I did. She constantly rubbed me the wrong way, tempting me to throw my kindle to get her to stop her nonsense. Like that was going to make it all go away 🤣🤣🤣 There were times when she had me rooting so hard for her (most of the book) and times when I couldn't figure out her logic. She went into everything with her own motives, which didn't really gel with her agenda. Would it hurt the girl to come up with a feasible plan? Something that didn't guarantee everyone's heartbreak? She was eternally sorry AFTER the fact, pretending to one and all that she felt nothing, making her the perfect enemy. How could one not hate her guts? But then when you consider her many vulnerable moments, you can't help but hope and pray and scream for her happy ending. Everly was a jumbled bag of contradiction, which I appreciated while I grumbled about it.

The characters I want to meet:
Noel, the oracle who aims to be Everly's best mediocre friend; Ophelia, the witch warrior you don't want to mess with; Hartly, Everly's sister, who has a heart of gold and a strong affinity with animals; Truly, an archer who never misses; Saxon and Vikander, Roth's besties and guards; and of course, Roth himself. He was honorable and kind, vicious and ferocious, a warrior of valor, honest to a fault, had the power of compulsion, an intricate back story, and HE WAS HOT! The man could turn you on with words, people! While any true heat in this story was fade to black, his kisses... dang, those kisses were incendiary!! 🔥🔥🔥

I've been a huge fan of Showalter's adult romance books and was super excited to get my hands on her attempt at young adult. Color me impressed! I was completely engrossed in this story, its characters, and the world building that had me practically visualizing Enchantia and its inhabitants. I'm in love with Roth because he happens to be the most amazing character in this book and I only wish I got to enjoy his perspective. Maybe we'll get something in the next one? *hint hint* Roth and his beast mode. Warrior Supreme. His pierced nipples and hot bod. Yeah, Roth was everything. Honestly, there were plenty of characters that got some shine and I'm hoping to get to know them better.

Freewill versus fate. What is predetermined and what do we have control over. Gena Showalter's new fairytale series, The Forest Of Good and Evil, tackles the idea of making your own fate and gives a inventive twist to the classic Snow White tale in the process.

One of this books strongest strengths is the world building. The setting feels like a fairytale. The world of Enchantia is vast, and brought to vivid lift. The magic of the world and how it works is also really fascinating. It is the kind of world that is created to be the backdrop to many stories with it being rich in potential. We are introduced to some areas only in passing as we are teased that other fairytales are currently taking place in the land of Enchantia. These other tales, and other lands, have already intrigued me and will provide a great jumping off point for the other books in the series.

Everly is the kind of character that you'll go back and forth on how you feel about them. For most of the novel I couldn't reconcile her actions. She was rash, impulsive, and power hungry. It wasn't until towards the end of the novel that I felt some justification for her actions. I could tell it was supposed to be a gradual turn with each betrayal leading her further down the path to darkness, but many of the things spurring her on could have been cleared up by actually talking with others. She had a lack of trust instantly that was supposed to be a carry over of her treatment in the mortal realm, but I don't personally think that was fleshed out enough for it to resonate the way I expect it was supposed to.

Gena Showalter's background of writing romance novels is evident when reading this. Some of the elements of that genre shine through into this book. They sometimes work and blend into the story and other times they don't quite mesh and stick out. I felt this became particularly evident in how she crafts both her main character and the love interest. Fans of her romance books, however, will probably be happy to discover this aspect of her books made its way into this one at well.

Roth Charmaine, the warrior Prince Charming, reads like my least favourite kind of love interest. He's written as your typical romance alpha male. He is a little softer around the edges than others I have read but his over protective qualities shine steep through a lot of his decisions. It, personally, made it hard for me to like him. He is well respected and does try to make amends for his actions which helped make his character more than just a stereotype.

Free will is a huge part of the story. Everly is told that she has a role to play in the Snow White tale but it isn't clear which one. She thinks her destiny is to be The Evil Queen but the books dives into the notion of self fulfilling prophecy. It grapples with the idea of people actively making choices that lead down a path they feel destined to take which then makes it reality. The book constantly questions if Everly (or any of the characters) could make different choices and have things end up differently.

Family is everything to Everly and these familial ties have the strongest connections in the books. Everly and her bond with her mother and sister is what drives the character and the book. It was nice to see these kinds of bonds driving the main character even more so than any romance. Family connections continue to be an important plot point through out the entire book and made for some of the more emotional elements of the story.

An inventive twist on a classic tale that sets up a much larger world filled with other tales. I may not have entirely loved this one but there is enough there to be enjoyed. I think fans of Gena Showalter's other books will love this one but I think those who are not a fan of her particular writing style will find more of the same here.

The premise of this book intrigued me, I enjoy fractured fairy tales, especially villain origin stories. This book, however, was a complete disappointment. It's the first Showalter book I've read, and may very well be the last. The writing just dragged for me. The idea is great, the execution is not. This book desperately needs a good editor!

First, what I enjoyed:
The idea that we all have the ability to choose for ourselves, despite what fate may have decreed. Everly is very aware of the fact that she's making choices that lead her down one path or another the entire way through the book. This is a great message to send young people.
"Evil isn't born, it's made. One thought and action at a time. Take a good look at what you've made."

Second, what I did NOT enjoy:
The dialogue is laughable! I felt like I was reading a middle schooler's story every time one of the characters opened their mouth. Trite dribble that no high schooler or young adult would ever actually say was over used constantly. It was exhausting!
There was no character development, and I mean ZERO. As the story progressed characters continued to make the same mistakes repeated over and over without learning from them. This got really old, really fast.
There was event after event the dragged and did not contribute much to the plot line. The story has some good action scenes, but it was about 200 pages too long.

Overall, while I did end up finishing this book, it took me over a month! That alone tells you something about the book (and it's not something good). It's not that I was ever too bored while I was reading, I was interested and/or cringing through most of it. But, when I sat down to read, there was always something better to pick up! I found myself putting this one off over and over and over again. I had to force myself to pick it up and finish. Between the time I started and finished this book, I read 14 other novels.

This one is a miss for me, 2 stars instead of 1 because I actually finished it and the idea was intriguing and fun. I do not recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book just reminded me how much I like fantasy and going into other worlds. Everly and her sister Hartly are just normal mortals living in the real world, except that Everly sees things in mirrors and Hartly can communicate with animals. When they are pulled into Enchantia they find that they are a part of a prophecy. These prophecies are all based off of fairytales and their fairytale is Snow White.
.
.
I loved that you would think it's obvious that Everly is the evil queen because of the mirror thing, but the book keeps twisting and turning and no one actually knows who is what character. One moment she thinks she's the evil queen and the next maybe she's Snow White. There are all kinds of creatures from witches to trolls to nymphs. There were a few times when I had a problem with a character, but the world and concept overshadowed that. Huge Warning: I wanted the sequel right away.
.
.
Thank you @netgalley for the free copy in exchange for a review.

I'm a fan of Showalter and a fan of retellings so I was pretty excited to read this one. It was good, but it felt a little fell a little short of what I was hoping it would be. Overall good characters and perspective, but in a time of many retellings, it wasn't my most favorite. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fairytale retelling? YES!! From the villain's perspective? YES PLEASE! I LOVE fairytale retellings. So anytime I see one, I immediately add it to my TBR list. I was stoked to read this book. Overall, I liked it (as I do most retellings) but there were a few things that made me give this less than 5 stars. It seems very juvenile for me and I know I'm the target demographic for this book...but that hasn't stopped me before from loving a YA book. It also seemed to jump around a lot...a little too fast for my tastes. Overall, I liked it and I may continue to read the series in hopes that it will develop (in writing/dialogue) a little more.

The Evil Queen Gena Showalter 2 stars

I’ll start by saying that I’m not sure if I just didn’t like the voice/tone of this novel or if the writing was just so bad, I had to drag my way through this book in order to finish it. Again, the premise, just like many ideas floating around the YA community, was fantastic. I loved everything about the description, the cover and the premise of the plot. However, this book sadly did not even come close to delivering what I was expecting of it.

Let’s talk about vernacular for a second. Just because it’s a YA book does not mean we should be dumbing down the vocabulary and word choice. There are plenty of spectacular Middle-Grade books that are well-written and use appropriate language for their target audience and still manage to also deliver great contact. I feel like I should be able to expect this from YA novels as well, however this is not so. The word-choice used in this book is either way out of my age range (meaning I am officially too old) or not all how teenagers are talking and is just what the author merely thinks teens sound like. It sounds more like a spoof of a 90s teenager movie than actual teens. But again...I may just be old.

The plot flow is choppy and again, I believe insulting to teens as well as YA reading adults. The author assumes you can’t infer and make rational connections between foreshadowing and other literary devices. So, she spells it out for you and tells you more of the story than she shows you. Instead of being shown a world, I feel more like someone awkwardly telling a story. It just isn’t good writing. Events are random and seem to have no flow, and the characters seem more like immature 10-year-olds than the 18-year-olds the author claims they are.

All in all, I believe this was a poorly written book and would not recommend it or read any of the authors other books. Absolutely disappointed.

While wanting to know whom the real Evil Queen is, which kept me reading, I ended the book not really satisfied. I felt like I was getting hit on the head with one of the messages; Love as a true strength. I also was having a hard time believing in Prince Charming’s love for Everly. I kept waiting for him to turn on her one more time. His love was all consuming to the point of creepy stalker guy.

I'm a big fan of the recent surge in fairytale retellings, and Showalter's Evil Queen is a good one! In an interesting YA diversion from her usual pretty heavily sexual paranormal romance novels, with some "fade out on the couple kissing" kinda sex scenes, but an interesting plot. To avoid spoilers I won't give too much away, but the idea of a pre-destined life as a character in a well known fairy tale (in this case Snow White) as prophesied by oracles is a newer take on the genre. There is a certain amount of investigation required to suss out who precisely will play which role, and Everly's concern about her potential EQ-status is completely understandable and justified. In the end, it's a nice tale that emphasizes the importance of one's own choices and actions to decide their fate.

The Evil Queen is the first installment of the Forest of Good and Evil series, which will apparently be a retelling or reimagination of our favorite fairytales a la Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, etc.

This first story revolves (obviously) around the various iterations of Snow White and we follow along with our characters to find out which prophecy will control, and which person fills the foretold role of Snow White, the Huntsman, Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, and the seven dwarves/protectors. There is a blending of mortals and magical creatures, and the story transverses multiple realms.

I would say that our "main" character and heroine is Everly Morrow, one half of a set of twins, who is trying throughout the story to figure out if she is the foretold Evil Queen, or maybe even Snow White, and how all these other people fit into her life and story. She has an undeniable attraction and chemistry with Prince Roth Charmaine... but is he the actual Prince Charming or the Huntsman prophesied to betray her? And what about the rest of her friends, family, enemies and frenemies - do they have free will, can they change fate, or is everything going to play out as one of the Snow White tales indicates?

So I really liked Everly and enjoyed watching her navigate this twisty maze of life. My heart went out to her as she worked through grief, heartache, betrayal, and self-realization. We saw her grow as a character and as a person, and I felt like she had matured greatly by the end of the tale.

While the story was a bit slow to start, after I got through the half-way mark, I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. I actually liked the murky aspect of the story and that we didn't know who was inhabiting what role in the fairytale. It made you think about the character's motivations, and how you yourself would react to various situations and scenarios. Sometimes the Schrodinger's Cat references were a bit overdone... but they also played into that murky aspect making you realize that a thing/person can both be something, and not be something, at the same time. Confusing? Of course. It was meant to be.

If you like reimaginations and retellings, I think you will like this series. While the characters are young adult, I didn't feel like they were overly immature or annoying, though I would have liked to see them more in the new adult range with some added spice to the story. But I'm invested enough to keep reading as the later installments get released.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher.

I love the premise for the book. Any twisted fairy tale is a good idea, and this one is good. This reminds me a bit of Wicked, in that it tells the story of the Evil Queen in Snow White and all of the steps along the way that created the character we know from the traditional story. I find her, at least in the first half of the novel, to be an extremely sympathetic character.

I love the plot, I love the world in which the novel is set. What I don't always love is the dialogue, which sometimes doesn't feel very realistic. I give the book four out of five stars.

My favorite aspect of this book was the mystery of how the "real" lives of the characters mapped to the Snow White fairy tale. Throughout the entire book, you're never quite sure if Everly is actually the Evil Queen or who the true Snow White is. This carried me through the book and kept me turning the pages even when the story felt a little too long and drawn out (which, unfortunately, it sometimes did for me). Everly's character was a little hard for me to connect to---I have trouble caring about unlikable characters, and she <i>is</i> possibly the Evil Queen, after all. She also sometimes reads a little young, but this is definitely mature YA (lots of violence, some sexual activity), so that might be a disconnect for some people. But Everly's struggle to come to terms with her baser instincts was interesting---and her conflict over her feelings for Roth definitely drew me in too. (I definitely liked Roth, even though sometimes I wasn't sure I would.) And I REALLY loved how we start at the end of the book and then circle back to that scene, when it all has so much more meaning (at the end). I enjoyed the end of the book immensely.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Everly Morrow is a sorceress and an 'apple baby'. In the recent past five women had come together to search for a mystical tree to give them the ability to have a baby, and save themselves from certain death. Nine months later six babies were born and an oracle spoke a prophecy - one of those babies would become Snow White and another the Evil Queen. All fairytales are prophecies and they will happen, just not as we might assume. Soon after, a king begins killing all the women and trying to kill the babies. Leaving one of the survivors fleeing to our world with two children. What else was foretold? Will Everly become the Evil Queen? Is it fated to happen? Or is more happening that it seems?

I really enjoyed this book! There was Evil and Good and the prophecy isn't nearly as certain as it seems. What is Evil? What is Good? Who decides? As Everly struggles with those questions, and everyone else's perceptions, assumptions and prejudices, we are with her as she tries to save her family, save her friends and figure out if that Prince, who is quite charming, is destined to love her or betray her.

A solid four stars! Good pacing, good plotting and good characterization. I'm looking forward to the next entry!

already posted on Goodreads! I'd forgotten I'd preordered the book!

I struggled to get into this book, the story was winding and at some times quite confusing. There's definitely an audience for this kind of story, that however was not me.

I didn't end up finishing this title.

Thank you for giving me the chance to review.

It's no secret that retellings are some of my favorite reads. I have also been a fan of Gena Showalter since I read her White Rabbit Chrinicles a few years back. When I saw the news for this book I was so excited and ready for it! I am thankful I got the opportunity to read an early copy. This book did not disappoint! The world building was amazing, and I love the way Gena put her unique twist on this story. It had many elements that kept the story intriguing the whole way through, and I was constantly on edge needing to know how it was going to end up. The story also had a great cast of characters each with a story of their own to face,

I really struggled with this one. I did not finish this book so please ignore if this makes me give a star rating and if it does it will be a middle rating and does not reflect my thoughts.

I wanted to like this book since retellings are my favorite sub-genre. However the writing lines were a little cheesy and I felt like it read like a romance novel without the smut. It did not reflect how teens or even college age youth talk.

The Evil Queen
The Forest of Good and Evil, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: Gena Showalter

The Characters:

Everly Morrow:
Hartly Morrow:
Aubrey Morrow (mom), Truly Morrow (cousin)

The Story:

I wanted to love the book. Ms Showalter is one of my favorite authors but ultimately it was taking too long to get into the story. 15% in and I was still utterly confused. There is a lot of world building and hints, vision and half scenes. I just can’t anymore. I guess I don’t have the patience.



The Random Thoughts:

*DNF so no rating

The Evil Queen is a retelling of the fairy tale, Snow White - with a twist. A prophecy has foretold that the women who have eaten magical apples from the Forbidden Magical Tree will give birth to daughters that will each have a part in the play in the Snow White tale. This story starts out in 'our' world (AKA the mortal world) and focuses on Everly and her sister, Hartly. Soon, events begin to transpire that reveal the prophecy to these two girls, sending them on a journey that forever changes their lives and the lives of countless others.

The best part of this story: the prophecy gives the roles of the players but never specifies which character is supposed to play which role. Readers, as well as the characters themselves, are left constantly guessing who is evil, who is good, who is a protector, etc. This is an interesting dynamic and works fairly well in keeping the story engaging and surprising. However, we are constantly reminded of this aspect of the story to the point where it does lose its novelty along the way and becomes repetitive and boring.

Worst parts of this story: the voice of the main character, Everly, is unbearably annoying. This did get better during the second half of the story but at first, Everly is so obnoxious that it's hard to read. I honestly did not like being inside of her head: it wasn't an interesting or fun or clever place to be. Many of the motivations and actions of the characters are head-scratchers, but Everly in particular is so erratic that it's unforgivable. The writing style of this story as a whole did nothing for me; it blended old fairy tales with more common vernacular that felt really clunky and cringey. The humor fell flat and the romance had plenty of its own cringe-worthy moments.

Overall, The Evil Queen had a promising premise with the ambiguity of the prophecy and the constant wonder of which character would wind up encapsulating the role of Evil Queen or Snow White. However, because of the writing style and the main character, I really couldn't recommend this book to most people. There are far funnier, more well written fairy tale retellings out there.

“Every hero is a villain, and every villain is a hero. It just depends on who you ask.”


The Evil Queen, by author Gena Showalter, is the first installment in the authors The Forest of Good and Evil. This is a modern but twisted fairy-tale retelling of “Little Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm from the evil queen’s point of view as she descends into evil. Everyone has a complex narrative, making the novel even more enjoyable. This isn't your classic retelling. 17-year old Everly Morrow and her twin sister Hartly were raised in the mortal realm; Oklahoma to be exact. Hartly is loved by everyone and Everly is the outcast.

Everly has an obsession with mirrors and daily delusions. She keeps her mirror close to check up on the activities of someone named Angel who she believes to be Snow White. Her sister has an affinity for animals and can put them to sleep. Everly and Hartly are apple babies. They can either end up good or evil. When a white witch tells Aubrey Morrow that King Stephan is dead, it is time for Aubry and her daughters to return to Enchantia from where they escaped from being hunted down and killed by the King.

After learning that she has been siphoning off her own mother and sisters energy which has dire consequences, Everly learns that she can travel via mirror to the land of her birth. Here, Everly is Princess Everly Morrow and her fate is tied to Snow White. She is supposed to be the Evil Queen. But, what if that isn't the part she is supposed to play? What if there are other characters who could play the part instead? She soon meets Prince Charming, AKA Roth Charmaine, (whom she has an insta connection to) and her battle between good and evil begins.

There are no good or bad characters. There is, however, plenty of twists, surprises, and grey areas that could tip one character either way. Everly isn't a bad character. She's actually a pretty interesting character. She's not fragile, but there is a softness to her that makes the reader gravitate and relate to her. She has flaws, and it is those flaws that make her a complex character. She may be the one villain who isn't really a villain except for the fact that everyone in Enchantia has a role to play. Anyone who has to go through all the things she goes through is bound to get mad and want revenge.

As the story progresses, Everly changes as the events unfold around her. It seems as though everyone is against her and wants to harm her. Her type of power is disgusting to everyone there. Her kind is typically hunted down and killed. Her journey is not an easy one despite finding, losing, and finding love of different sorts again along her way. She learns a lot about herself and her character. She must learn how to balance the good within her soul, along with the evil whispering tempting sweet nothings into her mind.

The most curious aspect of this story is uncovering who is really Snow White, The Huntsman, the Seven Dwarves aka protectors, and who is really the Evil Queen. The author created a super creepy forest, beautiful beyond imagining, with a glittering azure mist dancing around gnarled trees, populated by myths and monsters, killer unicorns who are poached for their horns (magic wand, anyone?), two-headed snakes, adorable pixies, intoxicating fairy dust, terrifying spider-scorpion hybrids, flesh-hungry roses, magic, mercenary witches, warrior trolls and trees able to uproot and walk to a new location—amaze of wonders and horrors.

My only real complaint was the formatting of this book. We go from a prologue, to a scene from the past that helps create the setting, then to a scene set in the future, and then we get to the first chapter where we are back in the real world before Everly knew about anything. showing breaks in chapters. My recommendation is to find yourself a copy of the finished book and read it.